Scientific Name:
Marchantia polymorpha
Pronunciation:
marr-CHANT-e-ah poll-ee-MORE-fuh
Common Name:
thalloid liverwort, lung liverwort
Family Name:
Marchantiaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Weed (horticultural)
Key ID Features:
Ground covering weed in moist shade or on media surface of overwatered potted plants; thallus thick, flattened, lobed to almost ruffled; gemmae like eggs in cup-like nest; female gametophyte 'palm tree' like; male gametophyte also stalked but with a flat top.
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
< 0.1m
Mature Spread:
< 0.1m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Africa, Australia / New Zealand, Central / west Asia, Central America, Europe, Mexico, North America, S.E. Asia / Japan / China, South America, South Asia / India (worldwide)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 7: (-18 to -12 °C)
Exposure:
Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Landscape Uses:
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Lobed
Arrangement:
Basal
Texture/Venation:
Succulent
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
Green
Shapes:
Spatulate, Other
Apices:
Rounded
Bases:
Truncate
Margins:
Palmately lobed
Additional Info:
no leaves; thallus
Inflorescence Type:
Flower Morphology:
Dioecious plant
Colour (petals):
No flowers
Flower Time at Peak:
Fruit Type:
Sporangium (spores)
Fruit Colour:
Green
Fruiting Time:
Additional Info:
See Lab Review Lower (Spore) Plants for more images.
Bark or Stem Colour:
Organ Modifications:
gemmae cups, gemmae, rhizoids
